What If It's You?
by Lost in Day Dreams
Summary: The anthology of Brock and Reba's relationship pre-marriage and children. Hope you enjoy! Oneshot.


A/N: Okay, so the title's not very original, I know, but I've had this idea in the works for a _really_ long time now and it just didn't seem right with a different title. But anyhoo, I wrote this mostly to tell a romantic story involving my favorite couple, but also to kind of attempt to explain the chronology of their relationship because it always bugged me. It's not perfect by any means (the writer's contradicted themselves so much its hard to get all the details exact), but I tried my best! Well, enjoy!

P.S. Please forgive any spelling and grammar mistakes I may have looked over. I am my own worst critic so if I read it one more time I'll start to hate it and lose the nerve to post it. Lol!

* * *

Twenty-five year old Brock Hart tugged at the collar of his shirt and fanned himself a bit with his free hand before bending down to pick up yet another heavy box. He was in the storage room at the back of his best friend Terry's bar, stacking box after box of heavy supplies. It was the same place he had been for the past hour, and the stuffiness of the room had his lungs begging for fresh air. Brock knew, however, that if he left now he probably wouldn't return, so diligently he continued stacking, one by one 'til there was but a few boxes left. All of a sudden he caught a glimpse of his watch.

"Crap," he muttered under his breath. He had been stacking longer than expected and was extremely close to missing his favorite part of the entire evening. Hurriedly he stacked the remainder of the boxes, dropping one on his foot in the process due to his haste, but he worked right through the pain. He shoved the last box in its place on the shelf, straightened his hair a bit, and half sprinted, half hobbled out the storage room and down the hall to the main part of the bar. To his immense relief he got there just in time to see Terry walk up the small stage and step up to the mike. Brock took his usual seat on the barstool closest to the stage and smiled with anticipation. He knew perfectly well what his best friend was about to say.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the vocal stylings of a lovely red-head from Oklahoma, Miss Reba McKinley." He made a sweeping gesture with his arm towards Reba, who appeared from the hallway that Brock had just ran through and stepped onto the stage. Brock felt his breath catch in his throat. With her sparkling top, her red hair cascading in curls about her, and the spotlight shining on her just so, she was beautiful.

As soon as she stepped up to the mike the band burst into a rendition of "Sunday Kind of Love". Reba cupped the mike delicately with both hands, gave the audience a charming smile, and began to sing. Her clear vocals filled the place with a pure, velvety sound, and the audience was hers for the remainder of the set.

Brock sat up straighter in his seat and gazed at her, just as mesmerized as the rest of the bar patrons. He had heard her sing a million times since they began working there about two years ago, yet every one of her performances had never ceased to be more amazing to him than the performance before. He especially loved this particular set. Usually due to her thick southern accent, Reba tended to gravitate towards covers of country music more often, such as Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton. Tonight though she chose to do her extra special set; the one that showed that she could take just about any kind of music and make it her own, which usually turned out to be something spectacular. That was one the things that Brock admired most about her.

_Along with about everything else, _he thought to himself as he grabbed the beer Terry had just opened for him and took a sip. He had to be kidding himself if he thought her singing was the only thing that had him so captivated, no matter how incredible her talent was. After all, he hadn't known she could sing the first time he met her and still he found himself incredibly drawn to her the second he laid eyes on her. He'd never forget that day…

It was about four years ago, during his first week back to his second year of college. He and Terry were out in the courtyard, checking out all the new freshman girls that were walking around campus. None of them were particularly interesting to Brock; they just seemed like the same old flaky girls Brock had been dating since high school, so he just kind of hung around bored out of his mind while Terry tried to hook up with any pretty girl who would take the bait. After about twenty no-thank-you's, Terry finally got fed up.

"Come on, man. These chicks are boring," Terry stated bitterly, prompting an eye roll from Brock.

"Yeah, that's it," he stated sarcastically. Terry shot him a dirty look but chose to let it slide.

"Hey, did you get to find that book our lit teacher wanted us to get?" he asked with a hint of worry.

"Honestly, I didn't even try to look," Brock admitted.

"Crap," Terry cursed under his breath. "He said we wouldn't be allowed back in class if we didn't have it by the next time we meet."

"Since when are _you_ so worried about whether we go to class or not?!"

"Since that blonde joined the class and started sitting next to me," Terry answered, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Brock laughed and shook his head, patting his companion on the shoulder.

"You're hopeless, my friend."

"Well, at least it's not the worst thing to be obsessed with," he replied with a shrug. Brock laughed again as Terry quickly scanned the crowd.

"Oh look, there's that Lori Ann chick from my bio class, I think she has the same lit teacher. Come on! Let's go ask her if she found the book."

"Aw man, I don't wanna go talk to her!" Brock whined.

"Why not?! She's a pretty cool gal!"

"I don't know, something about her just bugs me," Brock admitted. "She's always insulting me, like she's mad at me or something."

"Look, either we go talk to her for two seconds or we never find the book, fail lit class, and you never get into dental school. You really want that to happen just 'cause you didn't wanna go talk to some girl?" Brock thought about it for a second and sighed.

"Fine, but let's make it quick!" Terry nodded in agreement and headed off towards Lori Ann, Brock reluctantly following close behind. She was standing by a tree, scanning the crowd as if she was waiting for someone as well when the two men approached her.

As soon as they arrived though, Brock picked up on that gleam Lori Ann usually got in her eyes when she had a ton of insults just waiting to use on him, so he let Terry talk to her while he drifted off to the other side of the tree. It was while he was standing there kicking dirt with the toe of his shoe when he first saw Reba.

He had no idea what caught his attention first, the shock of fiery red hair glistening in the sun or the beautiful face it surrounded, but from that moment he knew she was a face he wouldn't easily forget. She gave him a breath-taking smile as she walked passed him to meet up with Lori Ann, and Brock could have sworn his heart came to a complete stop when those blue eyes connected with his. He didn't know what it was about her that had him so entranced. Shoot, he didn't even know her name! All he knew was that he desperately wanted to find out more about this girl.

Completely forgetting his fear of Lori Ann, Brock approached the group just as she was introducing Reba. He quickly learned that the girls had been best friends for years now, just like Terry and himself. Reba was majoring in elementary education with a minor in music, she was originally from Oklahoma, and occasionally enjoyed riding horses, as she grew up on a ranch and was always around them. But all that still wasn't enough for Brock. He found himself strangely wanting to know everything about her, unlike all the other shallow, predictable girls he had ever dated. There was something about Reba that had an almost mysterious air to it. He couldn't tell whether her temperament would match the cool, tranquility in the blue of her eyes or the fire in the red of her hair, but he sure couldn't wait to find out.

After a bit of small talk, Lori Ann and Terry began talking about lit class again, leaving Brock and Reba in a bit of an awkward silence. Brock desperately tried to rack his brain for something, _anything_, to ask the pretty redhead standing before him but he drew a blank, which just absolutely stunned him. All his life he never had any trouble talking to girls, they always just seemed to either throw themselves at him or fell for his smooth talk or rehearsed pick up lines. He had no desire to use either on Reba, however, nor did she seem like the type that would fall for it anyway. All this chalked up to a new feeling that until then was never even in Brock's vocabulary when it came to the opposite sex: intimidation.

"So, where are you from?" he heard his new friend ask, effectively breaking the ice and putting Brock a bit more at ease. They struck up a conversation that went on for a good twenty minutes without either one of them noticing. It wasn't until Lori Ann and Terry loudly interrupted and reminded them that both had class very soon did they finally even break eye contact. Brock's heart sunk when he looked at his watch and saw that they were right, realizing that the urge to get to know Reba better only increased as they talked and the only place he really wanted to be was right there with her. He could only think of one solution: ask her out on a date.

"Reba, I…." he began to ask, but just as he did he was abruptly interrupted by a pair of strong arms snaking around Reba's waist from behind.

"Hey there, honey," the man greeted her as he gave her a kiss on the side of her forehead. "Oh hey there, Brock!"

"Hi Parker," Brock greeted tersely, trying to hide his disappointment and annoyance with a fake smile. Reba was taken, and by Parker Reynolds of all people! That stupid little twit always seemed to have the one up on Brock in every aspect of his life. Brock studied hard to get good grades to go to dental school, Parker made the dean's list without even trying; Brock joined a fraternity, Parker was elected president of it; Brock dropped out of college football, Parker was captain of the tennis team; no matter what Brock did it just never seemed to measure up. But it wasn't like he ever really cared….until now. There was something incredibly special about Reba, he could see it already, but of course Parker just had to get to her first.

To make matters worse, it later turned out that was definitely not the last time he would be seeing the two together again. Parker and Brock were in the same grade, despite the fact that Parker was younger than he was, and therefore had a lot of classes together (making him officially regret those few years he put off college to train and audition for a spot in "A Chorus Line"). He and Reba would run into each other often before and after class, and at the library where Brock and Parker both studied. On top of that, Brock became more heavily involved with the fraternity to improve his resume, which was also another place Reba frequented often to visit her boyfriend. It was pretty much torture watching the two of them together, but there was at least one good thing that came from it: Brock got to know Reba a whole lot better, just like he wanted originally. It didn't take long for them to become pretty close friends, and soon he, Reba, Lori Ann and Terry formed a tight-knit group that hung together often.

That, however, didn't make forgetting his feelings for Reba any easier. In fact, it made it worse. The more he got to know her, the more he grew to respect and adore her. She could be as soft and gentle as a flower, but when someone challenged her or one of her friends she was definitely not afraid to speak her mind, a quality that Brock greatly admired considering his own inability to communicate feelings. She was also the first girl he met who could match the beauty of all the other shallow girls he dated but actually had the brains and the depth of character to boot. To sum it all up, she was unlike anyone he had ever known before, making it near impossible to desire nothing more than a friendship with her. He tried everything to rid himself of those inappropriate feelings. He even started dating Lori Ann for a brief period there, but that relationship lasted all but a month before they realized their insanity. Lori Ann moved on quickly (but that didn't come as a shocker) while Brock still pined away for Reba.

Fortunately for him, things didn't remain that way for very long. One day Brock ran into an unhappy Reba sitting on a bench in the courtyard, absent-mindedly tapping a pen against the notebook she used to write journal entries and the occasional song.

"A penny for your thoughts," Brock said as he approached her, apparently startling her out of her reverie and causing her to jolt a bit.

"Brock!" she exclaimed, embarrassment coloring her cheeks a bit. If one was not completely enthralled with Reba, they probably wouldn't have noticed, but Brock did and it confused him greatly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you there," he apologized.

"No, no, you didn't. I was just thinking about….something." Brock nodded in understanding, though he wasn't any less confused, and took a seat next to her.

"So, you waiting for Parker?" At the mention of his name, a slight mixture of guilt and sadness filled her eyes.

"Yeah, he's meeting me here and then we're gonna go out to dinner."

"Well don't try to sound too enthused," Brock responded sardonically. Reba gave him a weak smile but didn't respond. Instead she just looked down at her notebook and tapped at it nervously. He could tell there was something that was bothering her, but he had no earthly idea what it could be.

"Reba….is there something wrong?" he asked after a bit of silence, causing her to snap her head up and assume a sort of panicked look.

"No, no! Everything's great! Just great…" she tapered off lamely and returned her gaze down to her notebook.

"Reba," Brock gently prodded. "I can tell when something's bothering you and I want to help." He paused to see if he would get a response, but nothing. "You know you can tell me anything."

At this Reba looked up and stared him deeply in the eyes, searching for a sign that she really could trust him as much as she felt she could. The sincerity they held must have confirmed she could, for she closed her notebook and angled herself to where she was facing him.

"Brock, do you think it's wrong to stay with someone just because you're afraid of hurting them?" He was a bit taken aback by that question. He totally wasn't expecting that at all.

"W-What are you talking about?" Reba sighed and looked down at her fingers, twirling the friendship ring Parker had given to her for her last birthday.

"I know Parker loves me. I can see it whenever he looks at me. But….I don't know if I even love him."

"Oh…" was all Brock could think to say at the moment. He was too busy trying to keep his heart from racing out of control to come up with anything more meaningful.

"I mean, I really, _really_ like him. He's everything I'd ever hoped to find in a man! But there's just no…sparks."

"Sparks?" Brock questioned, subconsciously inching closer to her as his interest in her answer grew.

"Yeah, sparks. It's like…." Reba sighed with frustration, obviously not knowing how to describe it, but continued anyway, "every time we kiss or something, I really don't feel much of anything. I mean, it's nice, but I really don't think love is supposed to feel that way. Do you?"

"I have to agree with you there," he replied, choosing his words carefully. Reba smiled gratefully and continued.

"I don't know; I just don't know what to do! I don't want to hurt Parker, but I don't want to lead him on either. It'll only be harder for the both of us if I just keep pretending everything is alright when I know things are gonna fall apart eventually."

"That's true too," Brock said, inwardly rolling his eyes at himself. He knew he should be coming up with more helpful suggestions but his mind was flying all over the place with suppressed excitement. Could she be getting at what he hoped she was getting at?

"But what if it's all just in my imagination? I mean, I've never really been in love before. What if I'm just expecting too much?"

"Oh that's not even possible, Reba," he told her matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you can never expect too much out of love. If you're with the right person, even if you don't have everything you should _feel_ like you have everything. You get what I mean?"

"I think so," Reba replied. "Have you ever been in love?" At this, Brock gave her a small smile and looked her deeply into the eyes.

"Just once." He wasn't sure if she got the message, but the way she stared at him questioningly for a second before shyly looking away might have been a sign that she did.

"And what did it feel like?"

"Well…." He searched for the perfect words. "It kinda feels like, when you're with that person, you're the only two people in the entire world. Like it was made only for you two to love each other." Reba smiled at him dreamily.

"That's how it should feel, shouldn't it?"

"I think so…." Brock answered. A silent moment passed where the two just stared intensely at each other, like they were searching each other's soul. Then, without a moment's hesitation, Brock leaned forward and captured Reba's lips in a passionate kiss. He knew he shouldn't have since she was technically still dating Parker, and for a moment he wondered if he had made the wrong decision when at first he felt her resist, but once she melted into the kiss, all other thoughts were completely abandoned. Brock instantly felt those sparks Reba had been talking about and a whole lot more. At that moment, he swore he could fly if he wanted to.

Reality came crashing back to both of them quickly though when they both heard Reba's name being called from the distance. The pair jumped ten feet apart; sure they had just been caught in a horrendous act, but to their immense relief Parker had called from around the corner and didn't appear 'til they were on opposite sides of the bench. Guilt colored both their cheeks as he approached them.

"Hey honey! Hey Brock! Ready to go to dinner?" Parker extended his hand towards Reba and she took it while nodding silently, refusing to meet his or Brock's eyes. Hand in hand they walked away towards the parking lot, leaving a confused and completely flabbergasted Brock behind.

_What did I just do,_ he questioned himself with the utmost fear. How could he have done that when he _knew_ Reba was still dating someone else? Did she really respond with just as much love and passion as he did? What was going to happen the next time they saw each other? Is she going to tell Parker? Parker doesn't own a gun, does he?! All these questions and more plagued his mind as he mindlessly made his way back to his dorm room. He didn't regret the kiss itself, it had been wonderful! It was probably the most meaningful kiss he'd ever experienced in his life and it didn't last but twenty seconds. What he did regret though was putting Reba in a horrible situation like that. It would kill him if she never spoke to him again because of it, but he certainly wouldn't blame her.

An excruciatingly slow week went by before he even saw Reba, or Parker for that matter. He was beginning to wonder if he had driven both of them into transferring, silently praying that wasn't the case. His prayers were answered a day later when Reba finally approached him outside one of his classes.

"Hey," she greeted shyly.

"Hey," Brock greeted back with equal bashfulness. An awkward silence followed.

"Can we talk…privately?" Reba finally asked, gesturing to an empty study room down the hall.

"Sure," he agreed eagerly, ecstatic that he'd finally get his opportunity to explain his actions. Fortunately it turned out he didn't have to.

As soon as they stepped into the private study room, Reba launched into a story about how she finally got the courage to break it off with Parker the night after they kissed. She didn't exactly tell him why, but instead just explained that she felt their relationship wasn't really going anywhere. He took it hard, as she expected, but ultimately set her free with his blessing. It turned out Parker had gotten a wonderful opportunity to transfer to Princeton on a scholarship. They'd even pay for his education if he decided to stay to earn his masters, which was something he always wanted to do. The only reason he was reluctant to take the opportunity was because of Reba, but now that didn't seem like a problem anymore. Ultimately they both agreed it was for the best.

"So Parker's all moved out of his dorm. He'll be transferring next week," Reba explained to a stunned Brock. She paused for a bit to study his reaction before continuing.

"I wanted to let you know sooner, but I wanted to be sure Parker was really out of my life before I saw you again."

"A-And why is that?" Brock asked, trying to suppress his excitement in case his heart was jumping the gun a bit. Reba gave him a knee-weakening smile.

"So I can freely do this." She crossed the room and pulled him into a sweet, tender kiss, to which Brock immediately responded. They parted breathlessly about a minute later.

"That first kiss completely shook my world, Brock," Reba shyly admitted. "From that moment on I knew I wanted the rest of my kisses to be with you. I'm kinda hoping you feel the same way…."

Not being able to find words, Brock nodded goofily. Reba grinned.

"So, I was wondering if maybe we could start dating. You know, like steadily?" The fact that she even thought she had to ask made Brock chuckle a bit, and instead of answering he pulled her into another passionate kiss. Reba giggled.

"Is that a yes," she asked against his lips.

"Oh you bet so," Brock replied, breaking the kiss for a second just to look into her eyes. "You have no idea how happy I am right now." Reba's smile grew even wider.

"I'm happy too." They immediately picked up where they left off.

So Brock and Reba began dating steadily, and for Brock things couldn't get any more perfect. He had the relationship he had always dreamed of having and he couldn't have been happier about it.

Months went by and soon Reba's freshman and Brock's sophomore year of college came to a close. Both went back to their respective families for the summer break, Reba to hers in Oklahoma and Brock to his in Austin. They maintained their relationship though, calling each other every day and writing the occasional letter. During the two months they were apart they missed each other terribly, but when they returned their love had grown even stronger, and when they returned for their second and third year of college they even talked about moving in together.

A couple of Brock's buddies from his fraternity found a great house for rent just a couple of blocks from the college and needed three more people to move in with them. At first Reba was a little hesitant. They had been dating for close to five months now, but it was a still pretty big leap for their relationship to take, especially since they hadn't even said they loved each other yet. But Brock promised her he wouldn't try anything unless she was ready or rush her into saying something she didn't mean. He had to do a whole lot more convincing when Reba found out they would be living with guys whose preferred names were Brain and Toast, but ultimately she agreed, in partial thanks to Lori Ann agreeing to be her roommate. Brock silently noted to himself to thank her later.

For the rest of that year, Brock and Reba inhabited the same home. Brock kept his word about not pressuring Reba into anything, and even appointed himself her official guardian against the advances of the other two men living in the house. It turned out to be unnecessary though, besides being too high to try anything half the time, Brain and Toast proved themselves gentlemen if nothing else.

As the months rolled along, Brock found himself falling more and more in love with Reba every day. They even began talking about the possibility of getting married, though it never was much more than casual boyfriend/girlfriend talk. Nonetheless, around the time their eight month anniversary was approaching, he began to look a bit more seriously into the future. His third year of college was drawing to a close and dental school was quickly becoming much more of a reality. _Everything_ was becoming much more of a reality.

He loved Reba with all his heart, that was for certain…but that's also what happened to terrify him. When he was younger, he never was sure if he ever wanted to get married. He didn't want to have to worry about anyone else. But now that he found the girl he could easily spend the rest of his life with, what was he to do? He didn't want to let her go but the intense love he felt for her scared him deeply. He needed to get away and have some time completely to himself to think. So the first opportunity he got, which just so happened to be spring break, he jetted off back home despite the fact that he and Reba had casually made plans to spend it together. She told him she understood if he needed to spend some time with his mother though, further adding to his anguish of deciding whether or not to stay in a relationship with her. Why did she have to be so darn wonderful?!

That whole week, Brock paced about in his old room at home, contemplating the future and trying desperately to reach a conclusion. It wasn't until the day before he was set to leave that he finally did come to one: he had to let Reba go. If he was having this much doubt about marrying her, she certainly didn't deserve him anyway. He wanted her to find someone that would know without a moment's hesitation that he wanted to marry her; someone who could take care of her for the rest of his life like Brock was sure he never could.

So with a glum resolve, Brock returned back to Dallas. He hadn't called Reba that entire week he was gone and he was certain he would be met with anger or maybe even a bit of jealousy. It was spring break after all; she probably imagined all kinds of trouble he might have gotten into while he was away. When he finally met up with her back at the house though, she didn't seem any of those things and instead claimed she figured he was probably busy spending time with family.

_Man, _he thought with a smug smile spread across his face, _she just can't bring herself to admit how bad she's hurting._ That smile was quickly replaced with a look of solemnity as he realized he had to get letting her go over with sooner rather than later, before he loses his resolve and causes her even greater pain in the future. After he unpacked everything in his room, he headed back down to the living room where he found her studying on the couch.

"Hey Reba, can I talk to you for a second?" She looked up from her books.

"Sure Brock, what's up?" She gave him that beautiful grin, effectively tearing his heart into a million pieces. This was going to be harder than he bargained for. Reluctantly he sat down next to her and took a long, deep breathe.

"Reba, I don't think this is going to work out anymore," he let out quickly.

"What isn't?" Reba asked, thoroughly confused. "You mean us living together?"

"No, I mean…..I mean just us, as a couple."

"W-What?" Brock had looked down to avoid the pain in her eyes but the timbre in her voice was enough to kill him. "What do you mean we're not going to work? I thought we were doing so great!"

"We were Reba, we were. It's just….I don't think I'm the marrying type and that's not at all what you deserve."

"But we haven't even talked that seriously about marriage! I don't understand why we're breaking up over something I don't even want yet!"

"That's exactly it, Reba. You may not want marriage 'yet' but someday you will, and I don't think I ever even want to get married….ever. I can barely take care of myself, much less another human being."

"Nobody's asking you to take care of me!"

"I know, I know," Brock replied, trying to keep his voice steady in an attempt to soothe her a bit. "But you deserve someone who would be able to either way, even if you don't need it. You deserve someone who would love you with all his heart for the rest of his life and….and I don't think that can be me." Brock just wished the world would open up and swallow him right then and there. He hadn't wanted to say those words, he knew he didn't mean them, but it seemed like the only way to convince her to let him go too.

He gathered up enough courage to finally look up in her eyes and he saw what tore his heart up even more. Tears pooled her beautiful blue eyes and some had even made tiny tracks down her soft cheeks. Her nose was slightly read, a sign that she was probably ready to sob any moment, and the most pain he had ever seen her experience in their time together reflected in her eyes. Without another word she got up from the couch and ran to her room, he heard the door slam a couple of seconds later. Only then did he let the tears that filled his own eyes rain silently down his cheeks.

The following week was pure hell for the both of them. The only times Reba ever left her room were to attend classes, the rest of the time she stayed locked up, refusing to speak to anyone except Lori Ann. She even had to have her meals brought to her, not that she had much of an appetite anyway. Brock was equally tortured. He never imagined his heart could ache to the point where he almost wanted to claw it out. He was completely miserable; eating only what was necessary and falling into "Reba dreams" filled sleep. A couple of times he would walk by Reba's room and hear her sobbing quietly inside, almost driving him to bursting in there and telling her he takes it all back and that he wants to be with her again. He resisted the urge though, knowing in the long run it was for the best. She deserved much better than him and eventually that's what she would find.

Knowing this, however, didn't alleviate the pain at all, so his roommates, Brain and Toast offered the only way they knew how to make things disappear: pot. He had been offered by them countless times before but he always turned them down, fearing that if he got too heavily into it he would end up wasted 24/7 like they were and it would ruin his chances of getting into dental school. This time though, his good judgment was clouded by the torment his heart was going through, and before he knew it, Brock had become a regular pothead. He managed to keep it confined to his room and still attend classes regularly however.

A whole week went by without anyone noticing a thing...that is, until Reba just so happened to walk in on him secretly lighting up a joint in the hallway on the way to his room.

"Brock!" she called out in pure shock. Startled, the joint flew out of his hand and onto the floor before he had a chance to conceal it and at least attempt to deny his actions. It was too late anyway; she had caught him red-handed and couldn't have been more disappointed. He still tried to babble his way out of the situation, but the look she was giving him was too much for him to bear, so he mumbled an apology and tried to make a break for it. Reba would have none of it though. She followed him all the way to his bedroom and sat him down on his bed to talk through what was causing this sudden unhealthy habit. Brock explained his twisted reasons and they had a long heart-to-heart, speaking to each other for longer than two minutes for the first time in weeks.

From that moment on, Reba appointed herself official guardian of Brock. She helped him kick his awful habit and got him back to focusing on school again. His grades had begun to lag ever so slightly, but even that hint of failure could keep him out of dental school permanently, so with Reba's help he was able to get them back up to exemplary stature. Brock didn't know how he would ever be able to repay her. He had always thought she was an angel that had been sent down just for him; her actions just went to prove so.

The week following that episode saw an improvement not only in Brock himself, but also his relationship with Reba. Though he still thought she could do better than him, he was glad to have her back as a best friend, like the days before they started dating. Things were all going very smoothly between them, but there was a silent understanding that living together was becoming an increasingly painful reminder of relationships past, so about a month before Brock's final year of college began, Reba and Lori Ann moved out of the house and back into the dorms. It was for the best, he tried hard to convince himself; living together while trying to maintain a platonic friendship was nearly impossible when he still had such strong feelings for her.

But Brock soon discovered that not living together also came with not seeing each other for maybe days at a time, and he began to miss her terribly. A solution to that quickly popped up, much to Brock's delight. Terry had inherited a bar from his late uncle and needed three waiters and a singer. After getting their consent, Brock suggested that he hire Lori Ann and Reba along with himself, seeing as how Reba could double as a waitress and a singer. Terry readily agreed and the three now had a new job together.

Now two years later, Brock couldn't have asked for a better situation. He had a great job and a great place to live, and although he did have to put off his dream of going to dental school until he could raise the money, he knew if he stuck with his saving that the dream would become a reality sooner or later. Best of all, he got to see Reba day in and day out without seeming like a stalker. Yes, life couldn't have been more serene—except for one little fact….he was still in love with Reba.

It had been over two whole years since they even dated and he still couldn't shake that feeling that clutched his heart and shortened his breath every time he looked at her. He didn't think any one person could have this much power over him, but she did. He had tried for so long not to love her but none of it ever helped--and something told him nothing ever would.

Suddenly Brock was brought out of his own thoughts by the sound of Reba's melodic voice finishing off the end of "So Far Away" with a couple of her trademark trills. She held onto the last note until the band was finished playing, and when they were done nothing but the echo of her sweet voice filled the room before fading into silence. There was a slight pause where he could tell everyone sat speechless, followed by a thunderous applause and everyone jumping to their feet in appreciation. Brock joined in enthusiastically and threw in a few whistles along with the rest of the crowd. Reba took a small bow and gave the audience one of those steel-melting smiles before leaving the stage. Brock was disappointed that he had allowed himself to day dream during most of her set, but thankfully she performed again in about an hour so he would get his chance to listen again.

He continued to watch her as she was surrounded by a group of admirers before she could take more than five steps away from the stage, all of whom were praising her and her fabulous talent. Reba just grinned and accepted the compliments graciously. Brock smiled too. She always had such a lovely manner of accepting compliments; one could tell she genuinely appreciated every one of them, unlike some who just dismissed them like they meant nothing. Atop of the fact that she was just wonderful, that's probably why she received so many. Brock sighed sadly to himself, still not really believing that he had actually let her go.

_You're the one that thought it was for the best,_ a voice inside reminded him, but he had realized a while back that it really wasn't. He now realized he had made a terrible mistake. Originally he hadn't wanted to marry Reba because he didn't want to have to worry about another human being that much. The notion that he could actually love someone and care about them that much terrified him. But now he realized that it was all futile. He still cared about Reba with every fiber of his being. He looked after her when she was around and worried about her when he couldn't be by her side. He loved her with all his heart and soul, more than he ever loved anyone else in his entire life, even himself. It didn't matter what the status of his and Reba's relationship was, he had already begun to love her like she was his wife long ago. Why couldn't he have realized that two and a half years sooner?!

"Because you're an idiot, that's why," he mumbled allowed to himself, taking another long sip of his beer.

"Who's an idiot?" he suddenly heard the voice of his heartache ask from behind him. He nearly choked on his beer from the surprise as Reba took a seat next to him. "You okay there, Brock?"

"Y-Yeah," he managed to sputter out between coughs. "And no one's an idiot, I was just…thinking out loud to myself." He could feel his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment as he took another sip of his beer to clear his throat. He didn't know why he was so nervous, it's not like she could read his mind or anything. Still, knowing that she had been that close when he was thinking deep, forbidden thoughts about his love for her rattled him a bit. Brock tried to play it casual though.

"So, you did really great out there tonight," he complimented.

"Really? I was a little worried about the set list. I'm always afraid I'm going to mangle those beautiful songs with my accent," she admitted.

"No, no!" Brock denied quickly. "If anything, you make them even better. You're voice is so beautiful, Reba."

"Thanks," she responded as she gave him a shy grin. Brock picked up on the hint of rosy pink that colored her cheeks and smiled. She always looked so cute when she was embarrassed.

"So, you singing those songs again in the next set?" Brock asked.

"Yup! You actually gonna pay attention this time?" she asked with a bemused smile.

"What do ya mean?"

"Well whenever I would look over at you, you had this far away look on your face like you were off in a whole other dimension or something." Brock smiled embarrassingly.

"Sorry. I was paying attention, really! I just…I just had a few things on mind, that's all." Her face turned to a look of concern.

"What things?"

"I…um…I was just…" he stammered, trying to think of a lie to cover up his true feelings. But before he had to come up with anything, another presence made himself known.

"Hey guys!" Terry greeted them cheerfully as he approached them from behind the bar. "What you two up too? Trying to get me jealous?" Brock watched as Reba playfully rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. He always asked them the same thing whenever he found Brock and Reba alone together.

"Hey honey," Reba ignored his question to greet him. Terry gave her a loving grin and leaned in to give her a kiss across the bar. Brock immediately looked away and took a long sip of beer to dull his despair.

_Of course Reba would be taken just as you begin to realize what a stupid mistake you made_, he told himself bitterly. It happened when he first fell for her, why should the situation be any different now?! Brock sighed bitterly and shot Terry a secret death glare as he continued to kiss the woman they both loved. He knew he shouldn't direct his anger towards him though. None of this was his fault, after all. Brock just realized his feelings too late, is all--like two years too late come next Saturday. That was when Reba and Terry's second year anniversary was coming up, and that was when Brock planned to be anywhere other than standing there witnessing their love for one another.

"So what'd you think of my girl's singing, Brock?" Terry asked, abruptly pulling Brock out of his thoughts. "Ain't she something?"

"She's amazing alright," Brock agreed rather wistfully. Reba smiled sheepishly.

"You two are up to something, I just know it," she joked. Terry pretended to be offended.

"What?! Can't a boyfriend just show a little love towards his girlfriend every now and then?"

"Yeah, _a _boyfriend can, but you're a different story. Usually your compliments come with a hidden agenda."

"Not this time, baby," Terry assured her. "Just paying a compliment to say thanks for performing my favorite set and singing my favorite song." He leaned over the bar again and kissed her on the temple. Reba grinned and caused Brock's stomach to do a million back flips.

"You're welcome. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I better go talk to the band about maybe changing the tempo on a few songs." She gave the boys one last smile before heading back over to the stage to where the band was hanging out. Terry and Brock stared after her, each thinking similarly romantic thoughts about the redhead before turning their attention back to each other.

"So Brock, did you notice the brunette that walked in during Reba's set earlier?" Terry asked with a mischievous grin on his face. Brock furrowed his brows and looked around.

"What brunette?"

"What do you mean 'what brunette'?! I'm talking about the bombshell sitting over there in the corner talking to Mike! You can't tell me you didn't notice her the moment she walked through the door!" Brock scanned the bar until he spotted the girl Terry was referring to, and she indeed was a knock-out. He could see why Terry found it so hard to believe that he didn't notice her.

"Oh yeah, I guess I just didn't see her come in."

"Dude, you'd have to be blind to not see her come in! What the hell had you so enthralled that you didn't?!" Terry bent behind the bar to bring out another beer as Brock shot a guilty look towards Reba's direction.

"Uh, I'm not really sure…" Brock tapered off and Terry eyed him suspiciously before continuing.

"Anyway, I think she's here to apply for that waitress position that's open. How great would it be to work with a knock-out like that everyday, huh?" Terry asked excitedly. Brock rolled his eyes.

"Maybe for us single guys it would be, but you already have your own knock-out, remember?"

"I know that! But I'm talking about a _brunette_ knock-out! Besides, there's nothing wrong with just being friendly towards a new employee…" Terry wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I'm gonna go say hi to her before the other hundreds of guys droolin' over her beat me to it!" Terry handed Brock another beer before rounding the bar and bounding excitedly over to the pretty new potential, leaving a steaming Brock behind.

It wasn't as though he believed Terry would ever do anything to act on his attraction. He loved Reba. In fact, she was probably the first and only girl he ever loved considering the record amount of time this relationship lasted for him. Terry was just flirty is all, which was a trait about him even Reba knew would never fully be broken. It just burned Brock up that there he was, pining away for a woman that he could never have when the man who did have her constantly went after other women. It just wasn't fair.

Brock forlornly picked up the other beer Terry had opened for him before sighing and pushing it away. He just couldn't live like this. He couldn't spend the rest of his life asking himself the same questions whose answers came too late: What if she was his other half? What if he just had that one chance to be with his soul mate and he blew it? What if he never found anyone he loved as much as he loved her?

Brock leaned back against the bar and secretly pulled an object out from his right pocket before gripping it in his left hand tightly to conceal it. It was a piece of driftwood he had saved from the first time he and Reba walked along the beach together, on their sixth month anniversary. He could still picture that night as clear as if it had taken place yesterday, but when he wanted to feel close to her he always brought it out and held it specifically in his left hand, the hand that had gripped Reba's as they strolled down that beautiful shore. They had gone there because they were both a little short on cash and hadn't been able to afford an official celebration, so they settled for a candlelit dinner of leftover pizza stolen from the fridge back home followed by the romantic stroll. It was at that moment when Brock had nothing yet everything at the same time did he truly realize how much he loved Reba.

Now here he was, two and a half years later, still holding on to those same feelings yet having nothing but the memories to keep him company. He had never wanted to turn back time so badly. He still thought she deserved way better than him, but for her he would try his absolute best to be that better man. All he needed was that one last chance—and that's exactly what he intended to get. He didn't want to hurt Terry, but he seriously doubted Terry was the marrying kind anyway. Brock intended to spend the rest of his life with Reba if it was the last thing he ever did.

With new found resolution, Brock stuck the piece of driftwood back in his pocket and went up to Reba, gently touching her upper arm to get her attention like he used to when they were dating.

"Hey Reba, can I talk to you outside for a minute?" he asked her in a rather serious tone. Reba stared at him questioningly for a second.

"Sure," she agreed, her voice tinged with a hint of concern at his somber demeanor. Brock's heart fluttered a bit upon seeing slight evidence of her lingering care for him but it didn't keep him from being any less nervous. As he led her out of the bar, he began to realize he had absolutely no clue what he was going to say to her. How do you even start a conversation like that? He couldn't exactly just tell her, "Hey, guess what? I'm still in love with you. I think you should dump your boyfriend to be with me." His mind kept drawing blanks though, so at the moment it looked like that exact phrase was going to be his only option.

_It doesn't matter what you say as long as you say it, _his mind told him, and he knew it was true. He could eventually come up with a million ways to tell her his lingering feelings for her but the words would still hold the same profound meaning, thus also meaning her reactions would be the same either way. He knew she would probably be angry, or hurt, or maybe even a little violent, knowing her, and he knew for a fact she would definitely be resistant to the idea of reuniting for a long while. None of that mattered though. In his heart, Brock knew he wanted Reba by his side for the rest of eternity, and somehow or another that's exactly what he intended to get.

* * *

A/N: Well that's all she wrote, folks! I know I already explained my motives for writing this, but I also wanted to kind of ease myself back into writing so I can begin work on another multi-chapter fic I have in mind. Anyway, until I write again! :)


End file.
